EPA Analysis Says Utility MACT Will Not Help Renewable Power

Date: April 5, 2011

Source: News Room

EPA has issued a draft regulatory impact analysis (RIA) for its proposed rule to cut air toxics from coal- and oil-fired utilities that predicts the rule will increase the use of natural gas but will not encourage growth in the renewable energy sector. EPA's March 16 proposed maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard for utilities would impose strict controls on mercury and acid gases. EPA's RIA released alongside the proposal predicts that total generation capacity for pulverized coal will decrease by roughly 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2015 as a result of the utility MACT, with total capacity for combined-cycle natural gas plants increasing from 272 GW in a base case to 280 GW as a result of the rule. As a result of the proposed rule, renewable energy resources including hydropower, biomass, solar, wind and others will not see significant growth, said the RIA. Moreover, it sees no change in the US generation mix in 2015, measured in GW hours, among various renewable sources. Some argue that advances in hydraulic fracturing have made natural gas cheaper and more cost competitive with renewables.

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